THE resounding results of an AgForce survey have shown that 98 percent of consumers believe Australian beef cattle producers are delivering a safe, nutritious and high quality product.

Conducted by the Grazing BMP Project, the survey interviewed visitors to Queensland’s biggest event, the Royal Brisbane Show, over ten days last month.

Grazing BMP was launched in 2013 and is an industry benchmarking initiative supported by AgForce, the Queensland Government (DAFF) and the Fitzroy Basin Association.

Although many of those consumers surveyed said they had no direct association with farming, the survey found consumers were still mindful of where they bought their beef, and what type of beef they purchased.

Other key results included:

• 44pc of respondents said they preferred to purchase ‘locally-grown’ beef, while 33pc said they preferred grassfed
• 25pc of respondents said they sometimes bought their meat direct from farmers, and 46pc bought their meat from farmers markets
• 82pc of those surveyed said they had no environmental concerns about eating Australian beef
• 87pc of respondents were confident about the quality and safety of Australian beef
• 87pc of those surveyed believe beef was good value for money
• 75pc of respondents ate beef twice a week or more.

The survey also indicated 74pc of consumers surveyed would be willing to pay more for beef to support the Australian beef industry in developing better outcomes for environmental and animal welfare matters.

AgForce Projects Grazing BMP Officer, Michael Taylor, said the BMP program was launched in 2013 to help livestock producers identify steps to improve the long-term profitability and sustainability of their grazing enterprise.

“The program, which is designed for producers, by producers, helps graziers self-assess and identify opportunities and threats in their current practices in order to become more drought-resilient and sustainable,” he said.

Mr Taylor said Grazing BMP was an ideal way for the grazing industry to be demonstrate its good environmental and animal stewardship.

“As consumers increasingly demand produce sourced from sustainable production systems, we are confident the industry can utilise their Grazing BMP tool and capture industry progression, foster and support the ongoing development of a sustainable product, and also deliver the real facts across the whole industry.”